Spurs complete deal for PSG’s Serge Aurier

Ivorian right-back Serge Aurier has joined Tottenham Hotspur from Paris Saint-Germain on a five-year contract, the two clubs announced on Thursday.

Spurs are reported to have paid PSG around £23 million ($29.6 million, 25 million euros) to sign the 24-year-old, who won two Ligue 1 titles during his three years in Paris.

The deal was held up as Spurs’ request for a work permit was complicated by the suspended two-month prison sentence Aurier was given after an assault on a police officer outside a Paris nightclub in May 2016.

“This is a huge and exciting opportunity at a massive football club and I am determined to prove myself as a professional both on and off the pitch,” Aurier said in comments published on the Spurs website.

“This is a fresh start for me and I will do everything to make the Spurs fanbase, which is huge and diverse, proud of me.

“The fans are the most important people at any club and I am looking forward to showing them and everyone at Spurs the real Serge Aurier.”

Aurier’s conviction for elbowing a police officer meant he was barred from entering the United Kingdom by the British authorities for PSG’s Champions League game against Arsenal last November.

His reference to Spurs’ “diverse” fanbase was a pointed one as he was suspended by PSG last year for making a homophobic slur against former coach Laurent Blanc in a social media video.

Aurier, capped 40 times by Ivory Coast, began his career with French club Lens and spent two and a half seasons at Toulouse before joining PSG in January 2014.

During his time at Parc des Princes, he also won three French Cups and three French League Cups.

At Spurs he will fill the void left by England right-back Kyle Walker’s £45 million move to Manchester City. He can also play at centre-back.